1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate, in general, to rendering of computer application and particularly to the partial rendering of a computer application.
2. Relevant Background
A computer, among many other things, is a device that is capable of user interaction. There are a number of means by which a user can interact with a computer and thus provide input to a particular software application. These include a keyboard, a mouse or pointing device, a microphone, and the display. Each of these user interfaces provides a user with the ability to provide and interpret data.
The rendering of a computer application is a vital component in a computer system. Displays may vary from a small screen associated with a laptop or desktop computer to that screen found on a cell phone or personal data assistant. In each case, a software application provides to the display information for interpretation by the user. Based on that data the user can use, modify, delete, or add data and employ the software for a variety of its designed purposes.
A computer executes several applications simultaneously. The computer time shares or multiplexes the central processing unit so that each application can appear to operate simultaneously. Indeed some computers have dual processor capability to provide true simultaneous execution of two or more software applications. Many software applications include instructions to render data to a display device. In such a case, the central processor unit provides to a display adapter instructions compatible with a display device.
FIG. 1 is a typical rendering of a software application as is known in the prior art. As shown in FIG. 1, a typical display device 100 can show an application window 110. The window 110 can be sized to encompass the entire screen or only a portion of the display device 100. As is known in the art, when a window does not encompass the entire viewable area, a system background screen is present. The window 110 produced by the software application generally includes a menu 140 or other functional region in which user interactive control menus reside. Within the viewable area of the window 110, the software application can provide text 120, graphics 130, and the like as governed by the software application.
As discussed, a display device can render multiple software application windows. FIG. 2 shows a rendering of two software application windows as is known in the prior art. Each window 210, 220 shows a complete, albeit smaller, rendering of the software application. While the depiction shown in FIG. 2 presents only two software application windows, one skilled in the art will recognize that a plurality of software application windows can be presented within the viewing confines of the display device. Note, however, that each window 210, 220 includes a menu, scroll bars and other features that would be found in a full screen display.
Absent from the rendering capability of current operating systems, display devices, and software applications is the ability to pick and choose what portion of a particular software application window the user would like to view. Furthermore, as a window of a particular software application is diminished, i.e. made smaller, the area in which the data is presented becomes a smaller percentage of the entire viewing window since the menus and control bars remain fixed in size. For example, consider a software application window that in a full screen display view uses 90% of the screen for the display of data and only 10% for control bars and menu functions. As the user shrinks the view to use other areas of the display screen for other functions or software applications, the actual area within the window on a percentage basis for the display of data decreases. It remains a challenge to display only a portion of a particular software application's window.